Shabazz Palaces announce they will release their upcoming LP Quazarz: Born On A Gangster Star on July 14th via Sub Pop. In addition, the duo will launch a US tour this coming August. You can find a full list of the upcoming dates after the video embed and album art/tracklisting below.

Shabazz Palaces report that Quazarz: Born On A Gangster Star was produced by Knife Knights, which is a duo that includes the band’s own Ishmael Butler teamed up with legendary Seattle producer/engineer Erik Blood. The album was recorded over a two week period and mixed by Blood at Protect and Exalt Labs: A Black Space in Seattle. Detailing the exploits of Quazarz, “a sentient being from somewhere else,” we are told that he has been sent to Amurderca “to chronicle and explore as a musical emissary.” However, what he finds on this planet is “a cutthroat place, a landscape where someone like him could never quite feel comfortable amidst all the brutality and alternative facts and death masquerading as connectivity.”

“Shine a Light (feat. Thaddillac)” is our first listen in on the upcoming album and while its’ Golden Era aura is downright dreamy, the lyrics here never sugarcoat the larger Truths at play. The lyrics, then, are the focus of this new video by Cristina T. Bercovitz and Jonathan Snipes of Clipping.